Verso Rough draft of the Sonnet 'Come non podde dir'

This manuscript page shows Raphael’s process of composing poetry, featuring several revised stanzas and lists of potential rhymes. The handwriting is energetic, with numerous strike-throughs and corrections that reveal the artist's struggle to find the right meter and expression. This specific sheet is the reverse side of a preparatory drawing for the 'Disputa' in the Vatican Stanze.

Raphael's sonnets reflect the pervasive influence of Neoplatonic love theory and Petrarchan lyricism within the papal court. This text explores the concept of the 'amorous veil' and the soul's relationship to divine light, themes that mirror the theological and philosophical programs of his frescoes in the Stanza della Segnatura.